156 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



to teach school by going round from house to house through 

 the sparsely-settled country, imparting knowledge to the 

 young as well as she could. Her qualifications, except in 

 physical endowments and good moral character, would at 

 this day be deemed doubtful for that avocation, for in after- 

 life she would often tell of her pioneer teaching and say 

 that she could not write, and those who could were regarded 

 as highly educated. But she followed teaching for a num- 

 ber of years, and was succeeded by Susan Collier, who was 

 the second teacher, and taught school in part of her father's 

 log house and the dwellings of the inhabitants. Anna 

 Parker and Susan Collier were the only teachers who taught 

 in Avoca until they built a school-house, which was in 1818. 

 It was built of logs and stood on a plat of ground in the 

 present village, and near where the railroad bridge now 

 stands. Mary McKenzie was the first teacher in this build- 

 ing. She taught the summer school. George Cameron was 

 employed to teach the winter school, at ^8 per month, a 

 price in those days considered high. 



There were about 20 families in what is now known as 

 the town of Avoca in 1812, and the greater part of them 

 took lands on the river, and but few ventured back on the 

 hills. After that time settlers came in faster, and in 1824 

 there were about fifty families settled, and improvements 

 were commenced that afterwards were enlarged to fine, 

 beautiful farms, and the comforts of life were easily ob- 

 tained. 



In 1809, Henry Kennedy erected a saw-mill at a place now 

 known as Goff"'s Mills, and it is said that the year following 

 James Vaughn built a grist-mill at that point. The writer 

 has made thorough investigation as to its truth, but is un- 

 able to afiirm the statement, the old settlers informing him 

 that William Goff erected the first grist-mill soon after he 

 settled in Howard, which was in 1812, and until that event 

 the Taylor mill, in Wheeler, was the nearest point where 

 they could procure grinding. Eleazer Tucker built the first 

 saw-mill on the river in 1825, near Wallace Station. Jon- 

 athan Tilton built the first grist-mill about a mile south of 

 the village of Avoca. Soon after James Silsbee built the 

 flouring-mill in the village. The Goff" mill was built some 

 time before the Tilton or Silsbee mill. These mills gave 

 the settlers great pleasure, for, until the building of the 

 Taylor and Goff" mills, the people were obliged to resort to 

 the Cold Spring mills in Urbana, and many, to save the 

 arduous work of carrying their grists on their shoulders 

 such a distance, resorted to the more primitive method of 

 using the mortar and pestle, made sometimes of wood and 

 stone. Therefore they had great cause for rejoicing over 

 the erection of these mills near at home. 



The first store kept in Avoca was by two brothers, George 

 and Alonzo Simons, on the corner of the Oliver Zeilley lot. 

 The whole stock of goods was brought here on two pack- 

 horses. They were of such a class only as constituted the 

 actual necessities of living in those plain days. 



The Indians who frequented the settlements of the 

 whites were a lazy set. They would often come out of the 

 forest to where the settlers were chopping and clearing their 

 lands, and stand for hours and look on, and if asked to aid 

 or help, they would retort and say, " Ugh ! me like to see 

 white man work; me no work; squaw work." At the 



time the first settlers came into this town, there were about 

 50 Indian huts on the Haskin farm, where many relics of 

 their ingenuity and worship have been found. This region 

 was a favorite hunting-ground of the Senecas. At the 

 time Abram Towner settled on his farm near the new mill 

 and for a number of years after, there were from 50 to 

 100 Indian lodges on the flat just below his house, and 

 near that place have been found parts of a stone kettle, the 

 stone being of a diff'erent character from any found in this 

 country ; it was of that kind that could be worked into any 

 form desired, and a gentleman now living in Avoca has 

 made many a bullet-mould out of the remains of the In- 

 dian kettle. In those days it is said that the creek running 

 through the Towner farm and emptying into the river was 

 their favorite stream for trout, and remained a favorite re- 

 sort to them after they emigrated from this section, and 

 many would return to fish on that stream. 



There were only two teams of horses owned in this town 

 before 1812, and they were owned by Michael Buchanan 

 and James McWhorter. All the other teams were oxen, 

 and very few at most. Many of the settlers having, no 

 teams of any kind, the ladies and gentlemen of those days 

 thought it no hardship to walk six or seven miles to make 

 an evening visit and return. After a few years the farmers 

 who raised any surplus found an excellent market in Bath 

 for the products of their farms, which were drawn on sleds 

 by oxen in the winter. After disposing of their loads, they 

 were accustomed to start the teams homeward alone, and 

 when they thought they had got about halfway home, they 

 would follow and would overtake them, or get home as soon 

 as the teams did. 



The death of Michael Buchanan was the first in this 

 town. He married Anna Parker about the year 1800, the 

 marriage having been solemnized by Gen. George McClure. 

 He lived with his wife only seven years, when he departed 

 this life, leaving Anna Buchanan a widow, until 1811, 

 when she married James McWhorter ; but she continued 

 to live on the Buchanan farm, it having been willed to her 

 by her first husband prior to his death. The farm has been 

 kept and owned by some one of the descendants of Anna 

 Parker to this day. Hugh McWhorter (whose death was 

 the second in town) died March 6, 1812 ; at the time of 

 his burial an apple-tree was planted near his head, which 

 still marks his resting-place. This tree has grown to the 

 o;reat size of eiffht and a half feet in circumference. 



There were but two places where schools were taught up 

 to 1818, — one was in the village and the other near Sal- 

 mon Waterbury's. In 1843 there were eleven school dis- 

 tricts, which number remains to the present time. There 

 are several fine school buildings in Avoca, one of which will 

 take rank with the union school buildings of any of the 

 sister towns. The number of pupils who attended school 

 in the town during the school year of 1865 was 633 ; the 

 amount of expenditures was $1365.37. In April, 1867, 

 the number of pupils in attendance was 583 ; expenditures, 

 $1404.29. The population of Avoca is 1876 ; the village 

 contains about 600 inhabitants, two hotels, two dry-goods 

 stores, one clothing-store, two groceries, one cabinet-store, 

 and several mechanics' shops, and other places of business. 

 The inhabitants of the town and village are active, Indus- 



